Shoe stretcher



Patented Oct. 9, 1934 FiCE - 1,976,446 SHOE STRETCHER John A.KaleyjElyria, Ohio Application November 9, 1932, Serial No. 641,889

' 11 Claims. (c1. 12-4293 Thisinvention relates to shoe stretchers andmore particularly to a device for stretching only that limited portionof the shoe which hurts the foot An object of the invention is theprovision of a shoe'strctcher that will "produce a slight bulge in ashoe adjacent a corn or bunion whilenot affecting the remainder of theshoe.

Another object is the provision of a device in which the contactingsurface of the lever may be positioned to engage with any desiredportion of the shoe.

Another object is the provision of a shoe stretcher having a pivotalmounting for the clamping elements to accommodate them to the variouspositionings of the lever.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a lever which maybe used as a dauber to apply liquid to the interior of the shoe.

Other objects will appear from the following disclosure. 7

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective of the assembledshoe stretcher. 25 Fig. 2 is a plan View of the lever removed from thedevice and showing an attached liquid applying pad.

The base of the device comprises the plates 4 and 5 which have aface-'to-face sliding. contact permitted by the pivot pin 6 passingthrough apertures adjacent correspondingends of the two plates.Preferably the lower plate 5 is provided with an upstanding retainingscrew 8 projecting through the arcuate slot 9 of the upper plate. Thewing nut 10 on the screw 8 may be used to clamp the plates securelytogether to prevent their relative motion,

The upper plate 4 has the general contour of the sole of a shoe and issufficiently reduced in size to permit it to be placed within anordinary small shoe. he forwardpart of the under plate conforms to theshape of the forward portion of the upper plate, whilethe heel portionof the lower plate has been reduced in width to provide only a narrowstrip '7 extending to the pivot pin 6. Preferably the upper plate ismade of heavy material to withstand the stresses imposedupon it whilethe under plate may be of relatively thin material so that acomparatively flat under surface results.

To present a large contacting surface with the interior wall of the shoethe outer margin of the under plate is turned up as at 11 and the upperfiliplate-flis provided' with a peripheral flange 12 and 23respectively, which are mounted within which may be emitted at thatportion adjacent the flange 11. c l

Projecting upwardly from the central portion of the baseplate 4 is afulcrum post 13 having apertures 14 arranged one above the other: at 5the heel portion of the plate 4 is an upstandingclamping post 15 havingsimilarly arranged apertures 16. It is desirable that-the axes of theupper apertures be coincident, and'that the axes of'the lower aperturesbe coincident, as will hereinafter appear. As here shown, these postsare cent up portions of the upper plate 4 which have been partially outout of that plate. It is apparent that these posts may be provided inany other suitable manner, but the construction shown has the advantageof light weight and is readily formed.

Fulorumedwithin one of the apertures 14 is the leverlS, the centralpart'oi which is curved as shown in Fig. 2. v The lever has a loose fitwithin the apertures 14 so that it may have free angular motion androtational motion therein. Either one of the openings 14 may be used,depending on the size of the shoe being stretched and the elevation ofthe lever that is required. The inner 0 endof the lever is apertured asat 19 and the free end is provided with a relativelyenlarged convexsurface 20, to engage with the interior of a shoe at the point wherestretching is required. This provision or" a convex surface whichproduces a bulge at a limited area is an important feature of theinvention since it stretches'the shoe only where it hurts the foot andthe remaining. shape and appearance of the shoe is unchanged.

' To cause angular motion of the lever and move the convex surface atits free end into engagement with the shoe, the clamping elementsconsisting of nuts 21 and 21 and the bolt 24 areprovided, The nuts 21and 21 areprovided with pins 22 the apertures 16 in the clamping post15; and are retained therein by cross pins as 25 at their free ends. ,Toprevent interference between the' two nuts it is desirable that theyproject from opposite faces of the post 15, as shown. The bolt-24 3001fmaybe passedthrough either of the openings lil at the end of the leverand be screwed into either of the nuts 21, 21'. To facilitate turningthe i bolt, it is provided with a winged head 26;

- The pivotal mounting of the-nuts2l-and 21 r permits the-bolt 24 andthe cooperatingenri of the lever 18 to have a swinging motion when-' theI nut 21, the lever may be rotated freely to any desired position sincethese axes are coextensive as has been pointed out. That is, the planede fined by the lever and the bolt may rotate about an axis through theupper one of the apertures 14 and 1G, irrespective of the extent thatthe bolt 24 is screwed into the nut 21, since the upper apertures are inline.

The same condition is true when the lever is mounted in the loweraperture 14 and the bolt is screwed into the lower nut 21', since thesepivot axes are in line. Angular adjustment of the plane in which thelever lies is not affected by variation in the length of the bolt 24between the nut 21' and the lever.

It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited tothe simultaneous use of the axially coincident apertures, but thateither upper aperture may be used with a lower aperture as desired, oras most suitable for the particular shoe being stretched.

In using the device the plates 4 and 5 are separated sufficiently togrip the interior of the sides of the shoe, after which the nut 10 istightened. The location of the lever within the upper or lower aperture14 and the corresponding connection between the bolt 24 and the nut 21or 21 is determined by the size of the shoe and the extent to which thesurface 20 must be moved outwardly. Ihe convex surface 20 may be placedagainst the point of the shoe to be stretched, as permitted by therotation of the lever and the pivoting of the nut, after which the bolt24 may be screwed inwardly to force the surface 20 against the interiorof the shoe.

An additional feature of this invention lies in the utility of thedevice for applying liquid such as water at the point on the interior ofthe shoe where stretching is to occur. As shown in Fig. 2, a pad orsponge 27 may be secured to the convex surface by a thread passingthrough the holes 28. The device with the lever and pad attached areplaced within the shoe, as during the stretching operation justdescribed, and the pad is forced into contact with the desired portionof the shoe. It may be allowed to remain until this portion of the shoehas become thoroughly soaked and during this time the outer surface ofthis portion of the shoe may be soaked by hand with a second pad orsponge (not shown).

It will be apparent that the lever can be separately used as a dauber toapply liquid to the interior of the shoe. With the lever removed fromthe device and the pad or sponge 27 applied, the lever may be grasped inthe hand andits length enables the user to apply the liquid to a remoteportion of the interior of the shoe.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shoe stretcher, a base, a lever, means for supporting the leverabove thebase permitting angular and rotational movement of the lever,and means for causing relative motion between one end of the lever andthe base to move the free end of the lever into engagement with theinterior of a shoe.

2. In a shoe stretcher, a base plate, an upstanding fulcrum post, alever loosely mounted within an aperture of the fulcrum post to permitangular and rotational movement of the lever, and clamping means forcausing relative motion between one end of the lever and the base plateto move the free end of the lever into engagement with the interior of ashoe.

3. In a shoe stretcher, a base plate, a lever, means for supporting thelever above the base plate permitting angular and rotational movement ofthe lever, and clamping means between the base and one end of the leverto move the free end of the lever into contact with the interior of ashoe, said clamping means having a pivotal mounting carried by the base.

4. In a shoe stretcher, a base plate, a lever, means for supporting thelever above the base plate permitting angular and rotational movement ofthe lever, an upstanding clamping post, and clamping means comprisingbolt and nut elements, one of which has a pivotal connection with theclamping post, said clamping means serving to cause relative motionbetween one end of the lever and the clamping post to move the free endof the lever into engagement with the interior of a shoe.

5. In a shoe stretcher, a base plate, a lever, an upstanding fulcrumpost supporting the lever above the base and permitting angular androtational movement of the lever, an upstanding clamping post, andclamping means for causing relative motion between one end of the leverand the clamping post to move the free end of a lever into engagementwith the interior of a shoe, said clamping means having a pivotalconnection with the clamping post.

6. In a shoe stretcher, a base plate, an upstanding apertured fulcrumpost, an upstanding apertured clamping post, a lever fulcrumed withinthe aperture of the fulcrum post and being rotatable therein, andclamping means between one end of the lever and the clamping postcomprising nut and bolt elements, one of said elements having aprojecting pin mounted within the aperture of the clamping post topermit pivotal movement of that element, said clamping means serving tocause relative movement between said end of the lever and the clampingpost to move the free end of the lever into engagement with the interiorof a shoe.

'7. In a shoe stretcher, a base plate, a lever, means for supporting thelever above the base plate, connecting means between the lever and thesupporting means permitting angular and axial rotational movement of thelever, and clamping means between the base plate and one end of thelever comprising nut and bolt elements, one of said elements having apivotal connection with the base plate, the axis of said pivotalconnection being substantially coincident with the axis of theconnecting means between the lever and the supporting means, saidclamping means causing relative movement between the said end of thelever and the base plate to move the free end of the lever intocontacting engagement with the interior of a shoe, and said connectingmeans and said pivotal connection permitting angular adjustment of theplane of movement of the free end of the lever.

8. In a shoe stretcher, a base plate, an upstanding apertured fulcrumpost, an upstanding apertured clamping post, the axes of said aperturesbeing substantially coincident, a lever loosely mounted within theaperture of the fulcrum post to have angular and rotational movementtherein, and clamping means between one end of the lever and theclamping post, comprising nut and bolt elements, one of said elementsbeing provided with a projecting pin mounted within the aperture of theclamping post to permit pivotal movement of that element, said clampingmeans causing relative movement between said end of the lever and theclamping post to move'the free end of the lever into contactingengagement with the interior of a shoe, the coincidence of the axespermitting angular adjustment of the plane of movement of the free endof the lever.

9. In a shoe stretcher, a base, a lever, means for supporting the leverat various heights above the base and permitting angular and rotationalmovement of the lever, clamping means for causing relative motionbetween one end of the lever and the base to move the free end of thelever into engagement with the interior of the shoe, and means forsupporting said clamping means at various heights above the base tocorrespond with the positioning of the lever.

10. In a shoe stretcher, a base to lie fiat against the inner sole of ashoe and comprising a pair of superposed plates pivotally connectedwhereby they may be laterally adjusted to contact with the upper,retaining means for securing the plates in fixed relative position, andmeans for engagement with part of the shoe upper to be stretched,comprising a lever fulcrumed to one of the base plates and clampingmeans for causing pivotal movement of the lever.

11. In a shoe stretcher, a base comprising plates having an opposed facerelation, a pin adjacent corresponding ends of said plates to pivotallyconnect them whereby they may be adjusted to the lateral width of theinterior of a shoe, and a retaining screw at the opposite end of one ofthe plates and registering with a slot in the other plate to secure theplates in fixed relative position, and means for engagement with thepart of the shoe to be stretched comprising a lever fulcrumed to one ofthe base plates and clampingmeans for causing pivotal movement of thelever.

JOHN A. KALEY.

